


Pebble Hearts

by timeforteaaa



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, High School, M/M, Nerd Kyungsoo, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 11:58:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10786320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeforteaaa/pseuds/timeforteaaa
Summary: Kyungsoo loves Jongin almost as much as penguins.





	Pebble Hearts

THIS IS SO LAME AND AWKWARD OMG IM SQUEALING IVE REREAD THIS SO MANY TIMES AND NOW IT JUST SEEMS TERRIBLE IM SORRY

GUYS.... HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAYYYYY! if you have someone special to celebrate with then congrats have a great night USE PROTECTION KIDS but if you havent then AAYYY ME NEITHER LETS HAVE A PARTY TOGETHER AND THEN THE DAY AFTER LETS GO AND BUY ALL THE DISCOUNTED CHOCOLATES AND GET FAT #PLAN

lit tho guys its nearly my birthday im so excitteeeedddddddd (i dont even know why nothing special is happening its probs just the cake) ALSO though i got my grades back a couple of days ago and I LAUGHED SO HARD I CRIED I FAILED SO BAD istg so apologies if updates are slow im tryin to prioritise but kaisoo :) 

OK BUT PENGUIN OBSESSED KYUNGSOO. CAN I JUST-- ---- -- --- - -- - - - - -AAH. srs though if we aren't all penguin experts by the time this is over then ive failed ok. 

i was naming all te different species of penguin the other day and one of my classmates said 'why do you know so much about penguins?' and i just went 'it was research for gay fanfic' and looked him dead in the eye it ws brill 

i also have to go to my friends party literally NOW so if im not around to love you all immediately sorry im probably dead, hence why ive posted this fic just a squidge ahead of valentine's day my time cuz i probably wont wake up until midday monday so yeahh. 

ENJOY MY NOODLE SKWAD MUCH LOVE AS EVER I'LL SEE YOU ALL SOON <3333333

 

 

 

 Do Kyungsoo is an ornithologist, also known as someone who studies birds.

He specialises in Sphenisciformes Spheniscidae. To the uninitiated, that means:  _penguins_.

He’s also a geek, he’s well aware of that fact and he also knows it’s rather odd to love penguins as much as he does. He really does  _love_ penguins. Kyungsoo can't quite remember when the obsession started, but his parents tell him fondly that ever since he could walk he's been fascinated by the waddling creatures and his passion has simply grown over the years. 

The only thing he adores nearly as much as his penguins is Jongin, but he won’t admit that out loud, or to himself. Jongin is his best friend and  _only_ his best friend, nothing more. (Kyungsoo has been in love with Jongin for quite some time but unfortunately his life isn’t a Disney movie. Jongin won’t fall in love with someone knowing he’ll be second best to a bunch of penguins.)

(He’s also severely in denial, because Do Kyungsoo does not fall in love with anyone who doesn’t have flippers and a cute little beak.)

Kyungsoo is now at the ripe old age of seventeen and a student at SM Academy slap bang in the middle of Seoul. It’s a fairly prestigious school, but Kyungsoo admits the only reason he chose to come here was because there is a brass statue of an emperor penguin in the main lobby to celebrate some older students who went on an exploration trip to Antarctica. Despite his possibly dubious reasonings for selecting the academy, Kyungsoo's grades are naturally stellar and he's viewed as an asset to the school by many, even though he is just a little odd.

It’s currently lunchtime and Kyungsoo has just been let out of his biology class with a smile on his face. The class itself hadn’t been that great; Jongin had a hospital appointment for a dance injury he sustained a while ago, so Kyungsoo was left sitting alone. Jongin is his usual seatmate and Kyungsoo generally prefers his own company second to Jongin’s.

His classmates aren’t too bad actually, at least they’ve long gone past the stage of teasing him for his penguin notebooks and penguin pencil cases and penguin badges on his blazer lapel. They’re all rather sweet to him, especially after he showed them pictures of the Little Blue Penguin; a species they all immediately said reminded them of Kyungsoo himself. He’s since been the class’ little penguin Soo, and Kyungsoo can’t say he minds the name. He just loves penguins.

The reason there is a smile on Kyungsoo’s face is because of what their teacher just told them.

Kyungsoo skips his way into the cafeteria, eyes crinkling behind his glasses and his grin broadening when he sees that his friends are all sitting at their usual table.

Chanyeol spots him from across the room and waves him over, enthusiastically showering poor Baekhyun beside him with mayonnaise from his chicken sandwich. 

Kyungsoo winces in sympathy with Baekhyun, but quickly rearranges his features into a soft smile when he sees Jongin has returned from his hospital appointment.

Jongin is actually a year younger than Kyungsoo and most of his friends, but he got bumped up a year because he’s secretly super clever. He and Kyungsoo first met when Kyungsoo was five and Jongin was four at nursery. Their friendship had begun when Kyungsoo had tried to make friends with the other children by telling them all about penguins, but they'd given him funny looks, pushed him away and not let him join in with their games. They told him he was weird and crazy and they didn’t want weird people playing with them in case the weird rubbed off. Children can be surprisingly cruel sometimes. 

Little Kyungsoo had cried on a damp wooden bench in the playground for a whole hour until little Jongin had toddled his way up brandishing a slightly moth-eaten stuffed penguin he found in the bottom of the toy box. They became the closest of friends and from then on out, Kyungsoo and Jongin have been a two-man, invincible team, never leaving each other’s sides. When they reached high school age, they quickly became friends with Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae, and the five are regularly seen out and about together. They're a strange quintet, five often polar opposite personalities coming together but somehow it works, and although Kyungsoo's friends can be a nightmare he loves them all dearly and wouldn't swap them for the world. (He loves Jongin in a slightly different way of course, but Kyungsoo also can't remember how or why those feelings started appearing so he ignores that.)

Kyungsoo scrambles awkwardly onto the bench and Jongin smiles up at him with that sweet smile that in Kyungsoo’s dreams is made for him only. “Hey, Soo!” He says quietly.

Kyungsoo sits down beside him and pulls out his lunch box. He takes a moment to coo at it internally—it’s a Happy Feet box and a birthday present from Jongin a few years back.

As he’s pulling out his sandwiches, he smiles gently at Jongin. “So how was your appointment?”

“It was...” Jongin pulls some chicken out of his wrap and munches on it thoughtfully. “It was meh. They think the injury will heal really quickly, but only if I rest it. It’s just that the showcase is coming up and everything, and if I do rest my back I’ll be fine to dance on it but I won’t be practiced at all and—“He lets out a large sigh. “I don’t know.”

Kyungsoo frowns, laying his hand out to squeeze Jongin’s knee comfortingly. “You’re still really good at dancing y’know.” He says, frown deepening at Jongin’s rueful pout. “I bet even without practice you’d still win at the showcase.”

Jongin looks up and he peers from under his bangs shyly. “You really think so?” He says and Kyungsoo feels his soft breath puff out over his face.

Kyungsoo curses internally because they’ve gone and done it again. Whenever he is around Jongin they always seem to gravitate towards each other, always having at least some part of their bodies touching to feel secure. Kyungsoo supposes it’s a habit they’ve always had since they were younger, since he turned to Jongin for protection from the little kids in nursery, but now he’s older and it’s apparent that he has a tiny little crush on Jongin it’s really not good for his heart rate. He can’t deal with his face being so close to Jongin and therefore his lips all the time.

Kyungsoo doesn’t lean back though; he merely blushes under his own bangs and nudges his glasses slightly up his nose, trying not to knock the penguin plaster that’s currently holding them together at one side. “Yeah, I really think so.” He whispers, feeling the ever-present proximity between them.

“Ok.” Jongin whispers back, staring tenderly at Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo does the same.

Their gazes are broken by a gentle cough from across the table.

Kyungsoo and Jongin snap their heads up immediately, pulling away from each other and spluttering as if caught doing something they shouldn’t. Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae (who’s now joined them after his world history class overran) observe the pair with amused smiles on their faces.

“It’s odd, don’t you think,” Jongdae begins and Kyungsoo just  _knows_  that this is not going to end well. “That the only time Kyungsoo doesn’t talk about penguins-- and the only time the first word out of his mouth isn’t  _penguin--_  is when Jongin is around.”

“Mmhm,” Baekhyun hums in agreement from beside him, grin widening. “It’s very strange indeed.”

"I third that." Chanyeol nods with smirk that threatens to split into a grin.

Kyungsoo nearly chokes on the mouthful of orange juice he’s trying to drink and then proceeds to choke successfully when Jongin pats his back concernedly, setting his face on fire. “You guys are stupid.” He huffs angrily as the trio cackle.

Jongin looks almost wounded for a second before he’s replacing his expression with an empty smile. “Yeah,” He laughs “Stupid.”

“Oh!” Kyungsoo says suddenly. He turns to Jongin with an excited smile on his face. “I meant to tell you what happened in Biology.”

Just like that, the genuine smile is back on Jongin’s face as he puts his napkin down after wiping his fingers. “Yeah?”

“We get to do a presentation on our favourite animal!” Kyungsoo coos excitedly, bouncing up a down a little in his seat. “Then we have to present it to the whole year’s worth of Biology students! I’m going to do mine on penguins!”

“Oh and the penguins are back.” Chanyeol deadpans. He slaps his hand against his forehead.

“Even Jongin couldn’t keep them away for long.” Jongdae sniggers from beside him, ignoring the death glare Kyungsoo sends their way. Stupid friends dropping stupid hints about stupid things they shouldn’t know. Stupid.

“Our teacher said you didn’t have to do one though seeing as you weren’t there for the lessons and won’t have the notes on what to do, and you should be resting anyway, not doing work.” Kyungsoo frowns for a minute before continuing. “But it’s so exciting! I’m going to use all of my research from the zoo and talk about the different species and how they got their binomial Latin name, where they live around the globe—“

And just like that, Kyungsoo is off into his little world. He has grabbed Jongin’s hand between two of his own, forgetting his shyness and shaking their twisted fingers up and down eagerly.

Jongin looks and listens and smiles in all the right places, doing the job that only Jongin seems capable of doing without his brain exploding.

Jongdae rubs his temples from across the table. Are penguins an endangered species? If they’re not, he’s pretty sure they soon will be because if Kyungsoo doesn’t  _shut up about the bloody penguins_  there will be consequences.

***

Kyungsoo trudges down the gravel path towards the penguin enclosure of Seoul Zoo at four thirty sharp, as soon as he can get there after school finishes.

“Hey Kyungsoo!” Namjoon, the manager of the penguin section of the zoo yells, edging his way through a gate with armfuls of buckets and grimacing exasperatedly when his bottle green keeper's fleece gets stuck on the way.

“Hi Namjoonie!” Kyungsoo trills back. Namjoon has always been nice to him; he was the one that offered Kyungsoo a job looking after the penguins here. He used to see Kyungsoo every day; crouched by the enclosure until closing time and looking at the creatures with fascination in his eyes. The crew always needed extra hands and seeing as Kyungsoo was so passionate it couldn’t be a bad thing to allow him to volunteer as a keeper.

“There’s a bucket of sardines in the shed, the Galapagos’ haven’t been fed yet so you can go say hi to them if you want.” Namjoon smiles as he points with his elbow towards the small brick outbuilding that the penguin keepers use to store food and get ready. “I’ve gotta go and give a tour to some Americans, so I won’t be able to help you. You’ll be alright won’t you?”

Kyungsoo smiles and he nods. Although he adores Namjoon for his quiet and intelligent company, Kyungsoo never minds being on his own when he works with the penguins. “I’m sure I will be. Enjoy your talk!” He encourages as Namjoon smiles and ducks away with as much of a wave as he can manage. He’s the only fluent English speaker in the department so it’s not unusual for him to be dragged away at the last minute to aid the foreign tourists.

Kyungsoo pulls out his keys to the keepers’ building and unlocks it. The door gives a pleasing clunk as it opens and Kyungsoo shudders happily when he feels the gust of warm air from the building hit him. He wastes no time in swapping his beaten up trainers for the pair of green wellington boots under the peg with his name on it, noting all of the keepers whose boots are missing so he knows who’s wandering about.

Kyungsoo peers out of the window and sees the penguins waddling around happily on the rocks in the enclosure, some diving into the water while others favouring to peck at the floor for scraps of food. Kyungsoo grins at the sight of them before he’s stepping back out into the chilly air and shutting the shed door behind him, pulling his parka up round his neck a little. “Hello sweeties!” Kyungsoo coos as the penguins immediately notice his presence, squawking enthusiastically at the sight of their favourite keeper and the bucket he’s holding.

Kyungsoo rattles the bucket a little, cheeks flushing in delight as he’s immediately surrounded by penguins, all of them desperately making a grab for the fish. “You’ve got sardines and krill today. Play nicely.” He commands before he’s grabbing a handful of the slippery fish and throwing them into the pool.

The penguins go crazy, splashing around and desperately trying to be the fastest swimmer to grab the treat before someone else does.

Kyungsoo watches as the lucky birds emerge from the water with their meal, munching happily on the rocks. He giggles delightedly when the less lucky penguins return, only for him to throw even more fish out into the water and across the rocks for them to hunt for.

There is one little penguin though, that stays by Kyungsoo’s side for the majority of the time. He’s relatively small, a healthy size but still not capable of going up against some of the bigger boys in the initial scuffle for food. Kyungsoo isn’t supposed to, but he occasionally passes down a smaller sardine to the penguin, feeling mildly guilty because he knows it’s a major part of the zoo’s policy to give the animals as much of a natural existence as possible.

He also has a soft spot for the penguin because he watched him hatch in the incubator, and Kyungsoo was also given the opportunity to name the bird. “Come on Nini, let’s go and sit and talk.” Kyungsoo says, shaking his bucket a touch as Nini follows him.

Call him crazy, but Kyungsoo thinks Nini is the best councillor in the world. Penguins are excellent listeners. He parks himself down on the driest part of the enclosure he can find and Nini waddles to stand next to him, chirping happily when Kyungsoo hands him a small krill. “I get to do a presentation on you guys.” Kyungsoo hums to the bird, passing him another sardine, nearly dropping it as it slips out of his hand.

“It’s going to be great. I’m going to compile all of our research from the zoo and lots of pictures. You’re going to be the star attraction Nini, but don’t tell the others that, they might get jealous.” Kyungsoo whispers to the penguin, passing him another fish on the sly. His hands are soaking wet and his fingers are starting to go a little blue but Kyungsoo likes the calmness he feels as he sits out with the penguins.

“Maybe, if enough people like my presentation we might even be able to get another trip to Antarctica. A few students from my school went a couple of years ago and they got to see emperor penguins  _in the flesh.”_ Nini looks up at Kyungsoo as if waiting for him to continue and Kyungsoo smiles adoringly. “They’re a lot bigger than you guys, emperor penguins. I don’t know what you do if you met one Nini! They’d probably think you were their chick or something and try to—“

“Who are you talking to?”

Kyungsoo shrieks at the sound of a voice behind him. He jumps a little in his spot and knocks over the (fortunately nearly empty) bucket of fish beside him, much to Nini’s delight.

“Oh no! No, get your head out of there!” Kyungsoo chastises, hurrying to pick the bucket up before the naughty penguin can get more than his daily allowance (he’s probably already way over thanks to Kyungsoo’s undeniable bias and hand-feeding).

Jongin, the source of said voice, looks rather sheepish as he leans over the barrier looking down into the enclosure. “Sorry.” He mutters, looking a little flushed.

Kyungsoo stands up immediately and turns around, wiping off his bum quickly and hoping he doesn’t have a damp patch as he jogs up the small slope so he’s face to face with Jongin. “Jongin! I didn’t know you were coming!” He enthuses.

“Ah, dance practice finished early!” Jongin stops leaning on the barrier for a second so he can wave a hand in the air loftily. “I thought I’d come and see you.” He beams adorably for a second and Kyungsoo has to blink to clear his vision, coughing through the lump in his throat.

“Oh right! Yeah I was just...” Jongin is looking at him now and Kyungsoo can feel the blush that is crawling up his cheeks.  _He’s been caught talking to a penguin for goodness’ sake._ “I was just feeding these guys.” He hurries out.

“Can I—Can I come in and see them?” Jongin asks suddenly, eyes brightening in curiosity as some of the penguins start waddling over when they spot a new face.

“Um-- well...” The zoo policy is also pretty strict on letting non workers into the enclosures. “Well I guess you can. Just don’t tell Namjoon. Also, be careful of your shoes.” Kyungsoo says, eyeing Jongin’s new Converse warily. “It’s kind of wet in here.”

Jongin grins again, eyes closing up into crescents before he’s elegantly leaping over the fence and scattering the penguins with the thud he makes as he lands on the other side.

“Jongin! You’ll scare them.” Kyungsoo reprimands, but the flush on his cheeks and smile on his lips is enough to give him away.

“Sorry?” Jongin says again, looking far less guilty this time and more proud that he made Kyungsoo’s blush. Nothing like showing off his athleticism every now and then, even with an injured back, he’s still got it.

“Go on! Shoo!” Kyungsoo says to the penguins crowding around them again. They’re probably going to start pecking Jongin in awkward places to see if he has food anytime soon and Kyungsoo doesn’t think he can bear the embarrassment. He throws a few handfuls of fish out to mollify them, and it seemingly works as he and Jongin can sit down in peace.

They sit in a slightly awkward silence for a while, both of them watching the penguins play around.

The metaphorical ice is broken when Jongin suddenly coos “Hey, who’s this little guy?”

Kyungsoo turns from watching a group of the female penguins look for suitable nest locations to find Nini slowly waddling his way to stand before Jongin, head tilted curiously.

Kyungsoo laughs lightly. Jongin is sitting in Nini’s usual spot beside Kyungsoo, and the penguin is just a little miffed. Kyungsoo holds out a sardine to him again (screw the rules) and Nini waddles forward to take it gratefully. “I spoil you too much.” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes affectionately.

Jongin is watching the scene with a soft expression, eyes wistful.

Kyungsoo catches his gaze and blushes, tucking his chin into his coat to hide the colour in his cheeks and he edges his glasses up his nose a little. “Oh this is... um... this is—Nini.”

“Nini?”

“Y-yeah.” Kyungsoo lets out a little breathy chuckle, handing Nini more food and pointedly refusing to make eye contact with Jongin. It's only now that he remembers that the little penguin has inadvertently been given the one of Jongin’s nicknames.

“Nini... like me?” Kyungsoo can hear the smile in his voice.

“Yeah... He... when he hatched he cheeped up at me and his little eyes were screwed shut and they looked all sleepy and they kind of reminded me of you when you’re all sleepy and Namjoon said I could name him. So I did.”

Kyungsoo is pretty sure you could fry an egg on his face right now, so he once again avoids looking at Jongin's face and continues on his mission to make Nini the fattest penguin in the Northern Hemisphere.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jongin chuckles as Nini nips at Kyungsoo’s hand for the small halt in his fish giving.

“Oh I—erm I thought maybe you’d think it was weird so I... didn’t.”

“It’s not weird. It’s cute.” Jongin hums.

Kyungsoo stares at his shoes, before letting his eyes flicker up just shortly to Jongin.

He, of course, looks ridiculously handsome tonight with his hair fluffy and just-dried from his dance practice. Jongin’s eyes are always a mesmerizingly chocolate brown, and they seem to twinkle in the dimming sunlight the more Kyungsoo stares at them, slowly drowning in the jet black pupils. Jongin’s smile is always perfect and white, contrasting with his slightly coffee coloured skin and illuminating his features. His best friend is so breathtakingly beautiful that it makes Kyungsoo's heart swell with joy but it also makes him very sad because it only serves to remind him of how low his chances are with Jongin.

“You’re cute.”

Kyungsoo is broken out of his reverie by the two words Jongin whispers. The air around them is suddenly thick.

Kyungsoo splutters a little and flaps his hands. “No I’m not.” He pouts, and just like that Jongin is laughing and the strange tension in the air is dissipating.

“You are. You’re really cute, and if I’d known you’d named a penguin after me I would have come to visit him more.” Jongin says, picking up a sardine this time and confidently offering it to Nini, smiling broadly when the penguin comes to take it off him. “See? He likes me already.”

Their quiet time together is broken by Hoseok, one of Kyungsoo’s fellow penguin keepers, who leans out of the keepers’ shed with a grin. “Do you boys want some tea?” He asks, voice sounding far too innocent to be good news.

Kyungsoo side eyes Jongin shivering a little in his parka and nods. “Please Hobi!” He’d called in reply, silently praying that Hoseok wasn’t going to grass them up to Namjoon.

The hot drink is a welcome break and Kyungsoo pretends he doesn’t notice Hoseok’s greasy wink as he backs away from the pair, choosing instead to watch some of the penguins have a swimming contest across the pool.

“Who’s that?” Jongin asks suddenly, eyeing the rim of his cup thoughtfully. He blows on his drink nonchalantly and nods at Hoseok, who can be seen changing back into his normal shoes through the window of the keepers’ shed.

“That?” Kyungsoo giggles. “That’s Hoseok. Jung Hoseok. He’s one of the penguin keepers I work with.”

“You called him Hobi.” Jongin says, as he takes a sip of his drink, still looking at Hoseok cleaning up through the window.

Kyungsoo chuckles sweetly. “He’s always going on about how he’s everyone’s hope. He’s my hope, your hope, Namjoon’s hope, Jimin’s hope, the Chinese tourist’s hope. We have no idea where it came from; it’s just something he always says. Over time ‘hope’ kind of transformed to Hobi.”

“Are you two... close?”

“Me and Hobi? Yeah! He’s really nice. Everyone here is actually but Hobi’s easily my favourite. He lets me get away with everything and he’s super sweet.” Kyungsoo smiles fondly. It’s nice knowing he has a friend like Hoseok.

“How old is he?”

Kyungsoo looks oddly at Jongin for a moment, but the younger boy stares out at the penguins instead.

“He’s nineteen in the next couple of weeks. He’s just started his course at university and he wants to be a zoo manager when he graduates, like Namjoon.”

“You sure know a lot about him.” Jongin says shortly.

Kyungsoo is oblivious to Jongin’s slightly cool tone, giving another sweet giggle. “That’s mostly Jimin’s fault. He’s Hoseok’s boyfriend and he works over with the zebras, but he’s always visiting and giving me blackmail material in case I need it.”

Jongin looks surprised. “He has a boyfriend?”

“Um, yes.”

Jongin looks stupidly happy, grinning down at his drink and chuckling a little bit as the penguins slide from the rocks into the water. “Oh, that’s cool.”

 

 

 

When it finally goes dark and Jongin has to leave, he smiles brightly at Kyungsoo until the elder boy flushes awkwardly and tells him he should get going. Kyungsoo has to shove weakly at Jongin’s arm to actually get the younger boy to leave, and it sets something fizzing in his stomach.

Kyungsoo grins giddily as he watches Jongin’s back retreat into the darkness, before he turns and picks their cups up and takes them back into the shed.

“So...” Hoseok begins with a crafty grin on his face. “Who’s that?”

Kyungsoo blushes and doesn’t make eye contact, focussing instead on washing his hands in the second sink beside the one where Hoseok is doing some washing up. “He’s Jongin. My—um, my best friend.”

Hoseok side eyes Kyungsoo red face slyly “He’s cute.”

***

By the time Friday, also known as presentation day, comes around, Kyungsoo is beyond excited.

The whole of the year group that take Biology have been given the entire afternoon off, so it’s a really big deal for Kyungsoo.

He’s practically hitting the roof in his excitement, filling in the guys who won’t be present at the presentation on everything he’s going to be saying. “Honestly, I’ve put in so much detail! I can’t wait for everyone to see the pictures I’ve taken; Namjoon even let me bring in some supplies from the zoo!” He holds a medium box aloft that rattles a little as he shakes it.

As much as Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jongdae detest the word penguin and everything that associates with it, they have to admit Kyungsoo is ridiculously cute when he’s excited with his flushed cheeks and sparkly eyes, plus his enthusiasm certainly spreads.

Kyungsoo is still mid explanation of what he’s going to be doing in his presentation when he cuts himself off suddenly to turn and look at Jongin. “You—You will be there to watch, won’t you? Even though you’re not presenting.” He suddenly looks nervous, biting his lower lip.

Kyungsoo is also seemingly immune to Jongin’s intense gaze and caring smile. “Of course I’m going to be there Soo. Right on the front row.” He murmurs quietly in Kyungsoo’s ear, so no one else can hear him.

Kyungsoo giggles a little but is stopped by the sound of Chanyeol gagging into his lasagne.

“Please guys, can you not with the little mating ritual. It was cute at first but now we’re getting just a little bit sick of seeing you two cosied up together twenty four seven.” He rolls his eyes dramatically.

Kyungsoo is bright red in the face, but his voice is indignant. “Chanyeol! If you actually listened to anything I told you you would know by now that talking definitely isn’t a penguin mating ritu—“

“Soo, eat your lunch.” Jongin says, brushing his fingers through Kyungsoo’s fringe to calm him down. “You don’t want to be hungry for your presentation.” He coaxes.

Kyungsoo grumbles a little and glares at Chanyeol who simply shrugs, although he’s having a hard time batting down a smile.

Jongin gently pushes a fork into Kyungsoo’s hands and much to the others’ amusement; Kyungsoo begins eating his food just like he’s been told.

“They’re whipped, the both of them.” Jongdae whispers conspiratorially, hiding his words behind his can of cola because Kyungsoo is in prime position to give him a good kick to the shins if he hears.

The pair apparently doesn’t notice, because Kyungsoo is too busy letting Jongin spoon feed him pieces of pasta bake to help ‘calm his nerves’. Typical.

***

The lecture theatre is buzzing as Jongin settles himself into one of the comfy purple seats, right in the front row as promised and beside the whole of Kyungsoo’s biology class who are there in support.

Sunyoung, one of the pretty, popular but surprisingly nice girls sits beside Jongin, enthusiastically giving thumbs up to a slightly shaky looking Kyungsoo as he sets up his presentation.

He’s the first to present in the afternoon, and although the pressure is definitely there Kyungsoo likes the challenge. If he gets scared he can just look at Jongin. It’ll all be fine.

Kyungsoo unpacks his box proudly, looking at the array of small objects placed out on the table, including a picture of Nini and a model of a penguin’s skull that Namjoon let him borrow from the zoo’s information centre.

Once his slide show is loaded onto the projection board, Kyungsoo picks up the small microphone and coughs hesitantly to get everyone’s attention.

The room doesn’t quieten down at the noise and Kyungsoo blushes and ruffles his bangs. “Um, excuse me?” He says timidly.

Still nobody listens and Kyungsoo is starting to get a little anxious. “Could you—erm could you be quiet please? I’m ready to—to start.”

“OH MY GOD SHUT UP!” Soojung hollers a few seats down from Jongin. She rolls her eyes as the room finally seems to give up their chattering but she smiles reassuringly at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo himself clears his throat and wipes his slightly sweaty palms on his trousers before holding the microphone to his lips again. He gives himself one last peep at Jongin for comfort and wriggles his nose to push his glasses up before he begins giving his introduction. “Hello everybody, my name is Do Kyungsoo and today my presentation will be on penguins!” He says, eyes already starting to light up.

There is a soft rippling of murmurs across the room and a few stifled giggles but the listeners remain quiet nonetheless.

Kyungsoo clicks the first slide onto the screen, an image of a large map of the world with little clusters of red dots indicating the penguin colonies. “Despite popular belief,” Kyungsoo continues “Penguins are not limited to Antarctica. Some species of penguin, such as the Galapagos penguin, live relatively near to the equator.”

“Hey! Speak louder will you? We can’t hear at the back.” An obnoxious sounding voice booms around the hall, earning chuckles from his friends. Jongin shuffles a little in his seat.

Kyungsoo blushes furiously at being interrupted but coughs a little and tries to speak up. This is his area of expertise after all. “O-of course. Penguins are native to the southern hemisphere, and many species do live on the content of Antarctica.” Kyungsoo clicks to the next slide and pointedly ignores the rather exaggerated yawn coming from the back of the room.

“The smallest species of penguin in the world is the little blue penguin, which has an average height of between 30 and 33 centimetres. Compared to the emperor penguin, this is absolutely tiny as emperor penguins on average reach heights of 1.1 to 1.2 metres.”

“Boring!” The voice from the back yells again. The cackles are a bit louder this time, as if the sentiment is spreading to a few more people.

Most of the noise is coming from a popular group of boys who pretty much run the school. Jongin can’t care to remember their names but he knows their faces well enough and he’s starting to feel pretty anxious about the way they’re treating Kyungsoo.

“Hey penguin boy? We’re bored of this already! Get to the interesting stuff!” More cackles, woops, and yells of agreement.

“Oh um well... this is—this is Nini.” Kyungsoo fumbles with the remote as he pulls up a picture of himself and the penguin in the enclosure.

“Nini? What kind of name is Nini? Who calls a penguin that?”

Jongin bristles a little in his seat. Nini is  _his_ nickname, Kyungsoo’s favourite penguin is named after  _him,_ and he has good reason to be upset.

Kyungsoo is starting to get really flustered, breathing a little heavy and cheeks red. “I-um this is the shape of a penguin’s skull—“

There are shrieks from some of the popular girls crowding round the boys at the back, who hide their faces in their hair and giggle prettily. “Ew!”

“Penguin boy is that real!? Is that a real skull?” The crowd hollers.

“N-no of course it isn’t real it’s a mod—“

“Ew! The creep went and murdered a penguin for its skull! What a freak!” The ringleader of the little group stands up and jeers.

The rest of the hall erupts into boos and shouts as well.

Kyungsoo looks incredibly upset, trying desperately to explain to the baying mob that they’re not understanding, if they’d just sit down and listen then maybe—

“FREAK!”

“WEIRDO!”

“Who the hell is obsessed with penguins anyway?”

“Leave him alone!” Sunyoung yells, getting to her feet and turning to face the crowd. “You just won’t listen will you?”

Jongin feels momentarily proud and a little hopeful, as Sunyoung is popular but apparently not popular enough.

A hail of rolled up paper balls are fired towards the stage and the rabble doesn’t slow down as they boo Kyungsoo off, even though the members of Kyungsoo’s biology class leap to his defence, Jongin included.

Kyungsoo grabs all of his items of the desk and shoves them roughly into the box, tears streaming down his face and the sound of his own humiliated sobs muffling the chants of the crowd. He clumsily fits the lid on the box before he’s picking it up and doing the only thing he can do in this situation,  _run._

***

“Jongin! Jongin! Kyungsoo’s gone!” Sunyoung says suddenly, smacking Jongin lightly on the arm as he tries his best to defend Kyungsoo.

“What?”

“He ran out the door in tears. You have to go after him!” She cries, pushing Jongin towards the door. “Honestly, we can handle this by ourselves.” She says, gesturing to the other members of Kyungsoo and Jongin’s biology class who are all fiercely arguing in Kyungsoo’s defence.

It takes Jongin all of 2 seconds before he’s turning on his heel and sprinting out of the lecture hall, desperately following Kyungsoo’s already retreating back.

He catches sight of Kyungsoo just jogging out of the main entrance when he spots something on the floor. His trainers squeal to a halt as he bends to peer at it. It’s a tiny model of penguin, one that looks just like Nini that Kyungsoo keeps with him for good luck. Jongin snatches it up off the floor and tucks it safely into his pocket before he’s tearing out onto the street and heading in the vague direction of Kyungsoo’s house.

The damned heavens are already starting to open, pitter-patters of raindrops splashing against the tarmac beneath his feet. Jongin doesn’t stop though, he has to catch up with Kyungsoo, he has to be there for him and let him know that everything is ok. He just has to know that he’s safe.

If he had enough oxygen in his lungs Jongin would probably sigh in relief as he finally rounds the corner onto the street filled with twee gardens that Kyungsoo lives in. He wastes no time in counting down the house numbers until he’s skidding to a stop outside Kyungsoo and barrelling his way through the garden gate and pushing Kyungsoo’s front door open in one swift movement.

“Jongin?” Mrs Do asks concernedly, standing in the hallway and clutching a tea towel nervously. “What’s going on?”

“W-where’s...” Jongin pants frantically, desperate to get his words out. Maybe he should go to the gym more because he’s sure he shouldn’t be so out of breath from the mad dash through the city. “Kyungsoo.”

Mrs Do points hesitantly up the stairs. “He came bursting in in tears a few minutes before you. I—I don’t know what the matter is, he’s in his room.” She shakes her head in worry.

Jongin doesn’t stop to say anymore and he kicks his shoes off before darting up the stairs, nearly tripping over his own feet as he goes.

When he finally barrels into Kyungsoo’s bedroom, the boy is curled up in his computer chair, sobbing into his knees.

Jongin lunges forward and envelops Kyungsoo in the tightest hug he can manage, falling to his knees and making the elder boy jolt a little as he wasn’t expecting the arrival. “J-jongin?” He sobs into Jongin’s shirt.

“Ssh, ssh, I’m here. It’s me.” Jongin soothes, carding his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair. He notices Kyungsoo’s glasses, one lens shattered, lying on his desk. The arm that was being held on by the little penguin plaster has fallen off too. “Hey Soo, what happened to your glasses?” Jongin whispers.

“T-they fell off when I was running... dad’s going to be so mad at me for breaking them again.”

“Nah, he won’t.” Jongin smiles fondly, pulling back to look Kyungsoo in the eye.

Kyungsoo’s eyes are puffy and red, tear tracks still fresh down his cheeks and lips dry. The sight breaks Jongin’s heart a little and he reaches a hand up to gently smudge beneath Kyungsoo’s eyes, drying the tears. “I thought your presentation was great.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head sadly and looks down, fingers poking at the edge of his desk as a distraction. “You’re just saying that.” He sulks, “no one really cares about penguins.” Tears threaten to spill over again and Jongin's heart aches.

“I care about penguins.” He says. He pulls out the toy he picked up off the floor and places it on Kyungsoo's desk. “Will you tell me about them? Teach me about penguins Soo, I want to hear the rest of your presentation.”

 

Around ten minutes later, Jongin finds himself snuggled up in Kyungsoo’s bed, tracing the penguin patterned blankets with a smile. He’s dressed in his boxers and one of his sleep shirts that he’s left around here and he’s already made sure to text his mother so she knows he’s probably going to stay over at Kyungsoo’s.

Kyungsoo toddles back in from the bathroom where he’s been changing into his Happy Feet flannel pyjamas (another birthday present from Jongin) and he flushes when he spots Jongin lying in his bed. “You made yourself comfy I see.” He says moodily.

Jongin laughs and cuddles down further into Kyungsoo’s bed, an action that makes it very difficult for Kyungsoo to think straight because Jongin looks so adorable and soft and comfy and so very perfect. “Your bed is comfy.” He smiles. “You should be used to be intruding though; I’ve been getting in your way since we were four.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at the boy and turns to his bookshelf to pull out a book, mostly so Jongin can’t see the blush painting his cheeks.

Kyungsoo cautiously climbs up onto the bed beside Jongin, inwardly cursing the heavens when he notices the boy is in his usual sleep wear. Can’t he just wear pyjamas like a normal person? Must he make Kyungsoo so painfully hot under the collar? Jongin has miles and miles of gorgeous caramel legs and now is really not the time for Kyungsoo to be losing focus.

He seats himself an artificial twelve inches from Jongin and nearly shrieks as Jongin shuffles up closer to him and wraps an arm around Kyungsoo’s waist. “Come here Soo, I can’t see if you’re sitting all the way over there!”

Kyungsoo is now pretty much reclining back on Jongin’s chest but he tells himself that as its Jongin who initiated the contact its perfectly ok and therefore he decides to enjoy the time. He opens the book on the first page which shows a map of the world again. “Penguins are southern hemisphere creatures.” He begins, pointing carefully to the map. “The only penguins you’ll find in the northern hemisphere are those kept in zoos, there are none in the wild. Generally, penguins prefer cold climates but some—such as Galapagos penguins like Nini—live on the Galapagos Islands which are near the equator.”

Jongin smiles and nods in his peripheral vision and Kyungsoo’s confidence gets a little boost. He turns the page of his book and points to the picture of a penguin hunting. “They eat fish such as sardines, small crustaceans such as krill and other small sea creatures. Some species have been known to eat small varieties of squid. They’re fantastic swimmers and they can swim for long periods of time in cold waters to get food.”

“How do they stay warm?” Jongin questions, his hand lazily drawing distracting patterns on Kyungsoo’s ribs.

“Many species have a thick layer of blubber, a fat layer that keeps them warm. Their feathers are also coated in a wax-like fat to keep them waterproof. That’s why penguins look so shiny.”

“There are seventeen species of penguin. Many are really closely related to each other, but they are all classified as separate species.” He points to a poster on his wall. “Emperor penguins are largest, but they look similar in appearance to the King penguin. Many people get them mixed up, but King Penguins are slightly smaller than the emperors.” He indicates a poster next to the emperor penguin.

“There are 6 species of penguin that have distinctive yellow tufts on their heads, the Fiordland, Erect-crested (Jongin sniggers at the name and Kyungsoo hits him in the chest), Royal, Snares, Rockhopper and probably most famously the Macaroni penguin.” Kyungsoo points to all of the different species in the various posters on the walls. Jongin can’t tell any of them apart but he nods knowingly and smiles. He likes seeing Kyungsoo like this, all sparkly eyed and excited.

“Which is your favourite species?” He questions curiously, brushing a strand of hair off Kyungsoo’s forehead.

“I like the emperors best.” Kyungsoo grins, eyes getting a little wistful. “You can go and visit them in Antarctica and because they don’t have any predators they aren’t afraid of humans so they come really close to you. They’re really curious creatures. I’d love to go one day.”

Jongin squeezes the arm wrapped around Kyungsoo’s waist. “We will. One day, when we’ve graduated and saved up lots of money we’ll go. Just us two, we’ll leave Chanyeol and Baekhyun and Jongdae. Baekhyun would probably die if he saw a penguin in real life and Chanyeol would probably break a limb slipping over on the ice. Jongdae hyung’s just annoying.”

“You’re so cruel Kim Jongin.” Kyungsoo says, but the thought of just him and Jongin going on a cruise to visit Antarctica and see penguins is... amazing. The fact that Jongin w _ants_ to go with him is pretty special.

“Emperor penguins keep their eggs warm by sitting them on their feet and putting their blubber over them. The male and female work really well together to ensure that there is enough food, although unusually it’s the male who cares for the egg while the female swims to get food. Having said that, penguins are one of the few animals that can sustain long term homosexual relationships.” He purposefully ignores Jongin’s gaze as he says the last line. Talking about gay penguins while cuddled up in bed with his best friend who he most definitely has gay feelings for is not something Kyungsoo is particularly enthusiastic about.

“Penguins also have a series of complex mating rituals, that include many elements such as bowing or calling. Male Gentoo penguins present rocks for the female to build a nest with as a way of gaining their affections.”

Jongin is listening, he promises, but as usual his eyes wander from the picture of a Gentoo penguin presenting a rock in Kyungsoo’s book to Kyungsoo’s face. He traces the flutter of Kyungsoo’s eyelashes as he flicks between the pictures, and his eyes scan the excitable flush across Kyungsoo’s cheekbones.

Kyungsoo bites his lip to stop himself grinning at being allowed to tell someone all about penguins; at least that's until Jongin decides to ask a question that’s been bubbling on his tongue for a while. “Are you taking anyone to the Valentine’s ball?”

Kyungsoo blushes and shifts a little. He's absolutely dreading that question, along with any talk of the Valentine's ball. “Jongin, no one takes anyone to the Valentine’s ball.”

He’s right. The Valentine’s ball is essentially the dress rehearsal for prom. No one goes to the ball with a date (although many leave with one) and it is kind of expected that the couples formed at the Valentine’s ball will go to prom together.

“Good because you can’t leave me on a table on my own with Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae. I’ll die.”

Kyungsoo laughs a little unsurely. “Sunyoung said if I didn’t have a date by prom I had to take both her and Soojung. So I don’t know if I’ll even bother going to the ball. It's only there for popular people to join up and get dates, and as you well know I'm not popular." Kyungsoo grimaces as he think back to earlier. "I don't really think I'm welcome somewhere like that. Yeah, I'm probably not going to go." 

“What!? Soo you have to!” Jongin whines, pulling out his pout. “For me? Please? Anything to stop you leaving me alone with the crazies I call my friends.” Jongin gestures wildly at the TV. "I'll even watch Happy Feet with you!"

“I’ll think about it.” Kyungsoo hums as Jongin launches to press play on Kyungsoo’s TV knowing the DVD will already be in situ. He hides a small smile against the back of his hand as Jongin fumbles the remote, because thinking about it, maybe the Valentine's ball wouldn't be so bad if Jongin were there. 

 

 

When Mrs Do comes upstairs a few hours later to tell the boys that dinner is ready, she finds Kyungsoo snoozing soundly on Jongin’s chest with Jongin’s lips nestled into his hair. She smiles and quietly shuts the door behind her, leaving them to it.

 ***

By the time the 14th of February arrives, Kyungsoo has been wrestled into a suit by his mother and he’s being driven by his father to Chanyeol’s house.

“Think of it this way Kyungsoo; if you really don’t like it then you don’t have to go to prom, ok?” His father tries to reassure him. Kyungsoo hadn’t been to keen on the idea of coming tonight, but his parents insisted that it wouldn’t be fair to Kyungsoo’s friends if he didn’t go.

Kyungsoo had argued and complained that they knew he wasn’t the social type and Namjoon really needed help at the zoo tonight but they wouldn’t listen.

When Kyungsoo’s father pulls up outside Chanyeol’s house, the elder boy, along with Baekhyun and Jongdae are already climbing into Chanyeol’s beaten up Hyundai.

“Soo!” Jongdae yells as Kyungsoo stumbles from his father’s car, pulling awkwardly at his suit jacket as he does so.

“You’re just in time!” Baekhyun laughs, patting Kyungsoo’s back and smirking as Kyungsoo embarrassedly shuffles his now fixed glasses up his nose.

“W-where’s um... where’s Jongin?” Kyungsoo asks a little unsurely as he fastens his seatbelt beside Jongdae in the back seat.

Chanyeol looks at him through the rear-view mirror. “Did he not tell you? He isn’t coming with us... He called about five minutes ago to say that something's come up and he's going to get his dad to drop him off.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo says and looks out of the window. He was hoping Jongin would be present from the start to offer a little bit of moral support, but Kyungsoo supposes he's busy. Jongin's sister is going to have a baby soon so it's common for the family to be otherwise engaged. It seems strange for him not to have messaged Kyungsoo immediately though. Kyungsoo bites his lip a little anxiously. 

Baekhyun slaps Chanyeol lightly and gives him ‘the look’ and Chanyeol can only shake his head sheepishly as they pull out of the driveway and head for the location of the Valentine’s ball.

***

“Why is Jongin being weird?” Baekhyun mulls just as they finish their meal.

Kyungsoo shrugs his shoulders and sighs a little, pushing a bit of broccoli around his plate before finally deciding to eat it.

Jongin had arrived a few minutes after the start of the ball, looking ridiculously handsome and lean in his suit with his hair gelled up professionally. He hadn’t said much as he’d sat down at the table, deciding to merely stare at his dinner while he ate. It had also been odd because out of the two spare seats, Jongin had chosen the one between Baekhyun and Jongdae rather than the one between Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, where it had been assumed he would sit.

It leaves Kyungsoo feeling a little angry and upset, Jongin wouldn’t even make eye contact with him. First he doesn't get a lift with them, then he doesn't text Kyungsoo to let him and know and now he won't even lift his head. Kyungsoo feels like he’s done something wrong, but he has no idea what. Sure, it was awkward when they woke up in each other’s arms a few days ago but it’s not like that hasn’t happened before.They've been speaking as normal ever since, there hasn't been a problem. 

As soon as Jongin finished his dinner, he’d got up from the table with no word and only a small pat on Jongdae’s shoulder. He’s since vanished, no one’s seen him.

People are already starting to get up on the dance floor and Kyungsoo groans internally. He doesn’t really feel like dancing to be honest, he’s tired and his suit is far too scratchy and hot. Baekhyun and Chanyeol are off the second Fantastic Baby starts booming over the speakers and Jongdae is soon pulled away by a pretty girl from his Chemistry class, leaving Kyungsoo alone at their suavely decorated table.

The room is decorated in tones of rather sickly pink and red, with heart shaped balloons, white drapes and streamers everywhere. Kyungsoo is pretty sure he’s eaten about forty shiny love heart sequins by accident as they’ve been scattered rather lavishly across the table with seemingly little care as to whether they'll end up in someone's dinner. The atmosphere is suitable for Valentine’s Day and romantic certainly, but it loses its shine when the one person Kyungsoo wouldn’t mind being romantic with has done a runner. Kyungsoo looks out into the crowd of dancing girls in their slinky dresses and wonders for a moment if maybe Jongin's got a date. Someone with long flowing hair and a pretty laugh. Kyungsoo shakes his head to clear the bitter thoughts from his mind. 

Instead of mulling over his misfortune, Kyungsoo sits and sneakily texts Hoseok under the table, asking how the penguins are doing and smothering his giggles in his fist when Jimin starts sending him pictures of the view up Hoseok’s nostrils.

Sunyoung totters her way over in her ridiculously high heels at some point during the evening, dragging Soojung with her and they beg Kyungsoo to come and dance with them. When Kyungsoo doesn’t relent, they even bring Amber over and the three of them bully Kyungsoo into singing with them for the talent show.

“It’s that or nothing Kyungsoo,” Soojung says, eyebrows raised. She places a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder light-heartedly. “Either you come dance with us now, or we make you sing at the talent show.”

“We know you can sing.” Sunyoung teases, a wry smile on her face.

“I’ll even write a verse in the song about penguins for you.” Amber adds, putting her hands in the pockets of her suit in a defiant gesture.

“Ok, ok fine, whatever. Just don’t make me dance.” Kyungsoo blushes.

“Well if you’re sure Soo, then maybe just this once we’ll let you—Oh, hi Jongin!” Sunyoung says, cutting off her own sentence as her eyes flicker to a spot just over Kyungsoo’s head.

Kyungsoo tenses up and panics when Soojung’s hand is brushed off his shoulder and replaced with another slightly larger, heavier palm.

Kyungsoo doesn’t dare look at Jongin, but the girls cock their heads curiously as they watch the scene before them, eyes narrowed.

“I need to talk to Kyungsoo. Privately.” Jongin says, with a hint of ice in his voice.

Kyungsoo notices something small flicker at the corner of Soojung’s lips before she’s grabbing Sunyoung and Amber and linking their arms together. “Well, we were just off to dance anyway, so we’ll see you around Kyungsoo! You too, Jongin!” She trills before forcibly dragging a very confused looking Sunyoung and Amber away.

Jongin coughs lightly and removes his hand from Kyungsoo’s shoulder jerkily as if he only just remembered it was there. He looks a little flushed and uncomfortable, swaying from one foot to the other. “Would you—um... would you mind coming outside for a minute?” He asks and Kyungsoo stands swiftly. “Sorry I haven’t been—here I was... sorting something out.”

“Uh, yeah sure.” Kyungsoo catches sight of Soojung frantically gesturing at Sunyoung on the dance floor and a look of realisation crossing the girl’s face. Weird.

Kyungsoo follows Jongin’s back out of a side door of the venue, letting his eyes trace down Jongin’s neck and wondering what it’d feel like to toy with the little wisps of hair there. He suddenly realises what he’s thinking about and slaps himself mentally.  _Bad Kyungsoo._

They step out into a small forest area next to a lake and Jongin slows his pace a little so he walks beside Kyungsoo. He doesn’t say anything, and Kyungsoo takes to watching the muscles in his jaw jump and clench under that beautifully tanned skin.

Jongin slows as they reach a little clearing in the forest, away from the buildings and with a little run on into the lake. He sits down awkwardly on a wooden bench crafted beautifully from an old tree stump and gestures for Kyungsoo to do the same.

“So...” Jongin begins, scratching the back of his neck. He’s positively crimson in the face and the blush is starting to spread to his neck. “I—don’t laugh at me, ok?” He says, not making eye contact with Kyungsoo and instead watching the dusk settle over the sky.

“Of course I won’t,” Kyungsoo says softly. The sunset in Jongin’s eyes is beautiful. He feels insanely nervous because  _something_  is up and he's never seen Jongin look so terrified. 

Jongin takes a deep breath and turns to look at Kyungsoo, letting it hitch in his throat. “Soo...” He says hoarsely. “I know—you’re probably going to think this is so random and weird and you’re going to hate me and never speak to me again but I feel like I should say it because if I don’t say it now I never will and at least it’s really romantic here and so—“

“Nini, slow down.” Kyungsoo says, reaching his hand out to squeeze Jongin’s own reassuringly.  _Wow, where did that confidence come from._ Kyungsoo is actually shaking inside. Alone time with Jongin has severely detrimental affects to his nervous system. 

Jongin gulps and surveys their interlinked fingers before he looks up. “Ok, here goes nothing: Kyungsoo. Do Kyungsoo. I—I think you’re beautiful. I think you’re amazing. I think you’re perfect. I-I’ve been wanting to tell you that for a while but I haven’t because I’ve been... I've been a coward.”

“ I—I had a whole long speech that I planned out to say this but I—“ Jongin shakes his head in frustration.

Kyungsoo's throat is as dry as the Sahara desert. 

“God, Kyungsoo I think I’m in love with you.” Jongin blurts, looking shocked at his own announcement. “No, scratch that, I’m definitely in love with you. I’ve been in love with you since we were about twelve and I—I've never...”

Kyungsoo’s jaw drops.  _Is this really happening?_ screeches the tiny voice in Kyungsoo's mind. Or is this one of those painfully realistic but depressing dreams that he always wakes up from? He knows he should say something, do something, but his entire body seems to have frozen in place staring at Jongin’s pretty pink lips saying the words he has only dreamt of.

“I don’t even know if you’re gay. Oh God, why am I saying this if I don’t even—I’m an idiot.” Jongin panics. “I don’t even know if  _I’m_  gay. I just know that I... love you. I love you because you always cared for me and looked after me even though people would always pick on you. You always put me first and make me feel special and I want to make you feel as special as you make me feel.”

Kyungsoo is still staring. He's actually having difficulty hearing Jongin over the sound of his own heartbeat hammering in his ears. He's about 80% certain that Jongin is suddenly going to burst into peals of laughter and tell him it's all a joke. Although Kyungsoo knows 100% that Jongin wouldn't joke about something like this.

Jongin continues regardless of the replying silence, somewhat conscious that he might be digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole by the second.

“To me, you’re perfect, even with all your crazy little ideas and plans. I love your intelligence and your warmth and your kindness and your caring side. I don’t care that I’ll always be second best to a bunch of penguins because that’s you and I wouldn’t change you for the world. I don’t care if you’re not ‘normal’ and I wouldn’t want you to be what everyone else calls normal because that wouldn’t be my Soo and what I’m—what I’m trying to say is— this is probably way too much too soon I’m so sorry but--“ Jongin fumbles a little and reaches into his pocket. This confession definitely isn’t going how he planned it.  _God, this is so awkward._

He pulls out a rock and hands it to Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo takes it woodenly and it fits nicely in his palm, a comfortable weight and he notices that it’s shaped like a heart.

“Um turn it—turn it over.” Jongin says, voice meek as he stares at his shoes, regretting his idea immediately. He rubs his hand awkwardly on his burning cheek.

Kyungsoo turns the stone and there, painted in detailed script on the back are the words ‘ _Be My Boyfriend?’_

Kyungsoo stares at the words incredulously, tracing them again and again with his eyes, half believing that when he looks away they'll be gone. 

“It’s just that I—I remembered that you said some penguins—Gentoo I think? Give rocks to the person that they want to be with and I— Yeah it was stupid I know but—“

“It’s not stupid. It’s not stupid at all.” Kyungsoo whispers, eyes blurring with happy tears, voice hoarse. The fact that Jongin went to all this trouble to ask him this way because this is how  _penguins_ do it makes Kyungsoo want to squeal. This is Jongin, his best friend Jongin, and he's just admitted that he's in love with Kyungsoo.

 The elder boy abruptly realises that he’s still staring at the beautifully scripted stone and he hasn’t acknowledged Jongin’s confession at all. He clears his throat and stares at the twigs on the ground beneath his feet. “I—I think.. in case you didn't know-- or in case you were um, wondering I-- think I am gay." Kyungsoo stutters. It's a revelation not all that new to himself but it's certainly the first time he's admitted it to anyone.

 "I—you’re so handsome.” Kyungsoo sighs. “I’ve had so many confused feelings for so long and I’ve never acted on them because I didn’t think you felt the same. I-- and I never thought that you’d—I thought you’d think I was weird. You made me feel special too Jongin. I can’t describe how it feels knowing that someone has my back and someone cares about my feelings... knowing that they'd be willing to stand by me and hold my hand and make me feel loved." The pretty stone nearly drops out of Kyungsoo's hands because of how much he's trembling with pent up emotion.

"I—you know I can’t put my feelings into words very well... I can’t describe what I feel for you Jongin and that frustrates me because I want to tell you how amazing you are and how much I love you too.” Kyungsoo hurries out, desperately trying to figure his words out while choking back sobs.

Jongin looks astounded, thrilled and amazed all at the same time.

 “You know penguins mate for life right? Once they find the one they stay together forever.” Kyungsoo looks up and hopes and prays the tears don’t spill over. His face hurts he’s smiling so widely.

Jongin looks so painfully hopeful as he smiles back at Kyungsoo. “Will you... be my penguin?”

Kyungsoo makes a tiny choked noise before the tears finally fall and he’s nodding furiously. “Yes. Jongin, yes.”

He doesn’t realise he’s crying properly until Jongin is leaning over and pulling him into a hug, his own tears dampening the top of Kyungsoo’s head. “I can’t believe that—I can’t—It’s not a joke right?”

“It’s not a joke.” Kyungsoo half sobs with happiness. “I—I’ve liked you for so long and I—“ Kyungsoo breaks down into sobs again and Jongin can only rock him gently. It’s probably been the most awkward five minutes of Kyungsoo’s life with the most terrible confession ever but all he cares about now is that he’s in Jongin’s arm and blessed lord Jongin is his  _boyfriend._ This is so weird.

“I’m sorry I made you cry.” Jongin chuckles as Kyungsoo pulls away, taking off his glasses and smudging the tears away.

“I’m just happy, that’s all.”

“Can I—Can I make it up to you?” Jongin blushes.

“What do you mean?”

Before Kyungsoo can really get a grip on the situation, Jongin is cupping his jaw gently and leaning down. His breath simmers across Kyungsoo’s lips for a second. “I’ve waited a lifetime to do this.”

Then finally,  _finally_  after all these years Jongin’s lips are tumbling onto Kyungsoo’s own.

Kyungsoo’s eyes slip shut and his hands knot themselves into the front of Jongin’s shirt so he doesn’t topple forward. His stomach fizzes and his heart thuds loudly in his chest. Jongin’s lips are so soft and so gentle against his own, and Kyungsoo can’t believe that something amazing as this is his first kiss. His first kiss is with his best friend and his boyfriend all wrapped into one.

Jongin’s throat feels like hot honey is being poured down it, warmth radiating from his tummy all the way through his veins, right to the very tips of his toes and fingers. He has absolutely no idea what he’s doing, it's still painfully awkward but Kyungsoo is making incredible soft whimpery sounds beneath him as Jongin’s tongue slowly prizes his lips open so he guesses he must be doing something right. It only takes a few tangles of their tongues before Kyungsoo is pulling back with a gasp.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” Jongin panics. Oh lord, please don’t tell him he’s manage to bite Kyungsoo’s tongue in their first kiss,  _please._

“No, no it’s just... I don’t think I could have stopped if we’d... ” Kyungsoo blushes furiously and looks down at where his hands are still fisted in Jongin’s shirt.

“We’ll save that for another day.” Jongin giggles, looking flushed and breathless before Kyungsoo smacks him gently.

“I don’t put out on the first date.” He huffs.

Jongin cups his face lovingly and brushes their noses together, heart feeling fit to burst. “I wouldn’t expect you too.” He hums as Kyungsoo blushes and determinedly avoids eye contact. “Hey, you can’t be shy, we’re boyfriends now.” Jongin chastises as Kyungsoo huddles forward and snuggles into Jongin. Words never really were his thing.

They dissolve into a comfortable silence, with Kyungsoo just leaning back against Jongin and watching the sun go down. It isn’t until Kyungsoo’s phone starts buzzing in his pocket that they decide that maybe they should get back before their friends start to worry.

“Can’t we stay out here forever?” Kyungsoo sighs, eyeing Jongdae’s contact name grumpily.

“I wish we could, Soo.” Jongin swings their interlinked fingers between them as they stroll back through the forest, twin grins on their faces. “But I would like to have just one dance with my boyfriend at the Valentine’s ball.”

Kyungsoo grins happily again. It all feels so right, Jongin’s hand fits so well in his and the title of boyfriend is even better.

Just before they have to head back in to the venue, Jongin pulls Kyungsoo in for a hug. "Happy Valentine's Day, Soo." He murmurs against Kyungsoo’s hair. "I love you."

Kyungsoo's grin splits wide across his face and he crushes his nose into Jongin’s chest, inhaling his delicious cologne. “Don’t tell them but... I think I might love you more than my penguins.”

The rumbling chuckle in Jongin’s chest is enough to let Kyungsoo know that he made the right decision.

***

“Kyungsoo!” Hoseok sing-songs as he breezes into the keepers’ shed. “Lover boy is here.”

“Mr Loverman,” Jimin sings in perfect falsetto from the corner.

“SHABBA!” Namjoon adds from where he’s passing.

Kyungsoo is so incredibly embarrassed. “Oh shut up you guys.” He washes his hands quickly in the sink and swaps his wellingtons for his shoes before he’s grabbing his coat. He and Jongin are going on a date to the cinema and since Kyungsoo told his co-workers about his new relationship they haven’t stopped teasing him.

Jongin knocks on the door a few moments later and Kyungsoo has to fight to answer it before Hoseok can. The elder is determined to embarrass Kyungsoo in front of Jongin as much as is humanly possible. 

“Hi.” Jongin smiles sweetly, squatting so Kyungsoo can lean up and press a kiss to his cheek. “You ready?”

“Yep!” Kyungsoo grins, lacing his fingers with Jongin's and melting at the contrast in their skin tones. “Bye guys!” He yells to the guys in the hut before he and Jongin are strolling through the zoo to the exit.

“Aw. They’re so cute.” Jimin pouts as he watches them leave.

“They’re so disgustingly domestic already though.” Hoseok grimaces but there’s a small smile on his face. Kyungsoo seems so happy now.

“Did you hear how Jongin confessed though?” Jimin coos. “He gave Kyungsoo a rock, just like penguins do. How cute is that? Why couldn’t you do something as romantic as that for me?” He pouts, knocking Hoseok’s hip with his own.

“You don’t even like penguins.” Hoseok pulls a face.

“Yeah but I like zebras. You could have looked up zebra mating rituals for me!”

“I didn’t have a choice! You literally jumped on me after my dance show!”

“You enjoyed it!”

“Maybe I did!”

“Well I’m right then!”

 

Namjoon pokes his head into the keeper’s shed after it goes quiet for a few minutes, just checking that the keepers haven’t got into a marital and killed each other yet.

What he finds is Jimin and Hoseok in a steamy lip lock against the sink. Yes, Kyungsoo and Jongin are grossly cute, but at least they’re not quite as bad as  _that. Not yet anyway._

Where’s Seokjin when you need him?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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**Author's Note:**

> cross posted from asianfanfics (timefortea)!!!!


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